Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1887-01-27

Whom that day held not dear3
How could tell should love thee afar.
When did not love the anear?"
Her pro 'essional failure and the unkind
gossip of New York society had cut her to
the quick; but all that was forgotten now,
and, oh, il he would only come to her. for
lust few minutes even, so that she might
kneel before him and tell him how mis-
taken she had been!
But the days and weeks wore on; and, at
twenty-three, Alta Alwyn was a disap-
pointed, broken hearted woman:
Three years slipped away, and in the
musical world the name of Alta Alwyn was
almost forgotten, or at best only dim
memory.
A train was speeding along the iron
track, on its way westward, in the evening
of a day in late fall. In the parlor car sat
q man of, pei haps, thirty five years-a man
with tired and even dissipated expression
upon his face, though he was decidedly
distinguished looking. He was weary after
travelling for twenty-four hours, and was
debating in his mind whether he should
spend another night upon the cars or stop
on ana rest, wfieu- tkv- pOrtcr- -yollcd ffff-
ton" That settled it. AS boy he had spent
many Jolly times at Tiffton, so he would
renew his acquaintance with the old place
and the well-remembered hotel, where the
beds were, ut least, more comfortable than
Pullman car beIths. So he alighted from
the train and walked up to the hotel. AS
he signed the register he noticed that it
was nearly ten o'clock; but he wanted ex-
ercise, and so sauntered out upon the
familiar streets OF the modest Western
town.
He had not wandered far before he came
to the entrance of the Grand Opera House,
where plentiful display of flaming posters
announced for that evenings programme a
performance of Faust and Marguerite, "
by the "Ansberg Opera Company, under
the direction of Max Bischoff."
Extremes now met in our traveller. Ex-
actly three weeks before he had formed one
of brilliant party in box at the Grand
Opera House in Paris, where a magnificent
company had performed this very same
opera of "Faust." Now the whim took
possession of him TO witness the opera,
performed by q third-rate company, in the
theater of country town. He bought his
ticket, and as the house was almost full,
he was compelled to take seat very near
the stage. The curtain was down when he
entered the theater, and he guessed that
there could be but one more act.
ucIc WIS piduO, duNl
soon the stranger heard it played, fingered
by no mean hand. He glanced at the
musician and then at his programme.
"BischoGT No, that must be = ah, well,
perhaps am mistaken" he thought; and
at that instant the curtain was raised, dis
closing the prison scene.
Lying upon her bed Of straw, and not
five yards from our stranger, was Mar
guerite. But she was not acting; she was
dying. Blood flowed from between her
lips, though only two people in the large
audience noticed it. In one moment the
music ceased, and in the same instant two
men leaped upon the stage. One
was our traveller - Richard Cameron;
the other was Max Bischoff,
known in other days as Signor
Rivera. 1t all happened so quickly that
the Faust and Mephistopheles of the play
had not yet appeared upon the stage. Yet
Ns-~a-~sASA
N Eanct